After returning from South Africa, Gandhi established Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad to serve the country with universal welfare from his own place. The message is ‘Serving your own people is serving the whole Universe’. Gandhi spent almost 21 years in South Africa struggling on behalf of the people of Indian origin completing identifying with them and their problems. But Gandhi finally decided to return to India in 1915. The message of his return is ‘never forget your roots’. Despite his live-contact with India and its problems Gandhi took the advice of Gokhale seriously after his return from South Africa. He went around the country to understand and identify people’s problems.

To commemorate the 100th year of Mahatma Gandhi@aps@s return to India, a special Assembly was conducted by the students. The members of the Students Council along with the Principal and the Pre-primary Coordinator flagged off the occasion by garlanding the statue. The Principal addressed the gathering by delivering a short speech on Mahatma Gandhiji’s contributions in changing the course of the future of India. This was followed by a short talk by Ms. Shilpa Awasthi. An article was read by Disha of Class V on Gandhiji’s contributions towards freedom movement. Melodious bhajans were sung to show respect to the great leader. The assembly concluded with the National Anthem.

A Special Assembly at GIIS Chinchwad was held to mark the centenary of Gandhji’s return to India by the students of classes IV to VIII. The theme of the Assembly was ‘Self Reliance’. The assembly commenced with the thought of the day, a quote by the Mahatma, “Self-respect and honour cannot be protected by others. They are for each individual himself or herself to guard. " The students adorned the portrait of Gandhiji with “Sutmala” and a floral garland. The students of Grade VIII shared valuable information about the significance of the day with the others. The students sang Bapuji’s favourite Bhajans and also spoke about the ‘Khadi Movement’ started by Gandhiji, to create an awareness among children about the role of common man in making the country self-reliant. The Khadi cloth which is hand woven became a symbol of self-reliance in India’s struggle for freedom. Khadi became a symbol of free and Independent India. It is a symbol of love for your country! The students took a pledge to buy Khadi garments and keep alive the Khadi Movement.

GIIS Ahmedabad celebrated Pravasi Bharatiya Divas by organizing a special assembly at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Universal Values. The assembly began with chanting of slokhas by the students. The whole ambience was dipped in the realm of divine grace and spirituality when the students sang the Bhajan ‘Raghu pati Raghav Raja Ram’ and ‘VaishnavJan’. A power point presentation was shown to the students on the life and principles of Gandhiji showing how his homecoming transformed the freedom struggle of India and the school Principal spoke on the power of ‘Ahimsa’. The whole school participated in a peace walk which was led by students who dressed up as Gandhiji, Kasturba and Sarojini Naidu. The peace walk replicated the famous Dandi March. The Principal along with students and teachers garlanded Gandhiji’s statue and paid homage to the Mahatma. The 100th year of Gandhi@aps@s homecoming was celebrated by living his quote; “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man”.

GIIS Surat celebrated 100th year of return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa at Appolo Bander in Mumbai by conducting a special assembly for the students and staff. “Ram Dhun” was sung by school choir group and the whole school joined to sing Gandhij@aps@s favourite bhajan, “Vashanva jan to tene kahiye...” To pay respect to Mahatma Gandhi, Ayush Vaghani, Head boy and Titiksha Raushan, Head girl of GIIS Surat garlanded the statue of the Mahatma. Supriya Tarar of Class IV delivered a heart-warming speech in Hindi informing the students of Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution to Indian freedom movement and his fight in South Africa against racism.

The centenary celebration of Gandhiji’s arrival from South Africa to India was marked by a special assembly at GIIS Indore. The assembly began with the most adored song of Mahatma Gandhi-“Vaishnav Jan to tene kahiye re”

Mr. Darryl, Ms. Sujata and Ms. Shweta, teachers of GIIS Indore threw light on the importance of the day and the historical facts like Gandhi@aps@s contribution under the mentorship of G.K. Gokhale to uplift the society. Students took a vow to buy ‘Khadi’ garments to honour Gandhi’s khadi endeavour which stood for independence, self- dependence and equality. His Talisman was also shared in special assembly. Head boy-Naman Jain and the Head girl-Tushita Kulshreshtha garlanded the statue of Mahatma Gandhi with ‘sut mala’. The assembly ended by remembering words of wisdom by Gandhi, taking a pledge to “never to forget your roots”, and singing of the Ramdhun and National anthem.